National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States

About National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States

The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States awards some of its largest recent grants to historic houses of worship and other civic landmarks that anchor local identity. In 2024, it gave $536,660 to the Association for the Preservation of the Congressional in Washington, DC, and in 2023 it awarded $264,981 to the same grantee. Those large awards sit alongside many six-figure preservation grants to churches, cathedrals, and community sites across the country, including Washington National Cathedral, Old Pine Street Church, and Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The pattern points to a funder that supports preservation work at both landmark scale and neighborhood scale, with grants tied to conservation, restoration, interpretation, and planning. Its portfolio also includes targeted programs for sacred places, historic interiors, battlefield preservation, small towns, and regional preservation efforts. Across its recent portfolio, the foundation combines capital support with planning and technical assistance, using preservation as a tool for stewardship of historic buildings, cultural memory, and community revitalization.

What National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States Funds

Historic places and sacred sites are central to the National Trust’s grantmaking. It gave $250,000 to St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans for historic preservation, and $200,000 to Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Inc. in Birmingham for historic preservation. The National Fund for Sacred Places extends that work with technical and financial support for congregations stewarding historic houses of worship. The foundation also funds preservation in specific places and communities. It awarded $158,000 to the Hualapai Tribe in Peach Springs, Arizona, for historic preservation, and its Southwest Intervention Fund is intended to further preservation efforts tied to traditional cultures in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. Education and interpretation appear in its portfolio as well. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors supports preservation, restoration, and interpretation of historic interiors, while the National Trust Preservation Funds portfolio is described as seed money for planning and education projects.

How National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States Gives